Display case



April 24, 1934. w PLUMMER 1,956,226

Filed July 1, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 L. W. PLUMMER April 24, 1934 DISPLAYCASE Filed July 1, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 5 CHOCLATE (Ittornegs PatentedApr. 24, 1934 STATES QFFifiE Claims.

This invention relates to a display case designed for holding samplessuch as candy, jewelry, dental supplies, groceries, etc.

One of the objects of the invention is to pro- 5 vide a simple andcompact structure which can be easily carried, quickly opened or closed,and, when in open position, supports opposed series of trays at suchangles that their contents can be viewed readily.

19 A still further object is to provide a display case which will lockautomatically when opened and which will close gently so that there willbe no danger of injury to the parts or accidental displacement of thecontents.

With the foregoing and other objects in View,

' which will appear as the description proceeds,

the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and inthe details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it

being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the inventionherein disclosed,

maybe made within the scope of what is claimed, without departing fromthe spirit of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings the preferred form of the invention hasbeen shown.

In said drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of the opened orextended display case.

Figure 2 is a vertical section taken from front to rear of the closedcase showing the series of trays in folded or collapsed positionstherein, said trays and their connections being in side elevation.

Figure 3 is a plan view of the folded trays removable from their case.

Figure 4 is an enlarged front elevation of portions of two trays whensupported in extended positions.

Figure 5 is an enlarged section on line 5-5,

Figure 1. I

Referring to the figures by characters of reference 1 indicates the baseof an inverted box 2 the top of which has a handle 3 whereby the entirecase formed by box 2 and base 1 can be carried conveniently after one ormore straps 4 have been secured therearound. The box can be properlycentered on the base 1 by lugs 5 or other suitable guiding meansupstanding from the base 1.

Within the case formed by base 1 and box 2 is the display structureconstituting the present invention. This includes a bottom member 6formed of wood or any other suitable material ,55 the lower surface ofwhich is preferably provided the upper end of one of these levers isswung to with a covering '7 of soft material so that the member 6 can beplaced on a counter or other article of furniture without danger ofscarring it.

Member 6 has upstanding end pieces 8 which can be braced by front andback connecting strips 9 and by reinforcing blocks 10.

To the outer faces of the end pieces 8 are secured attaching plates 11each of which has a pair of levers 12 equally spaced from the center ofthe plate 11 and pivotally supported as indicated at 13. The two leversare joined by crossed links 14 pivotally attached to them at pointsequidistant from the fulcrums 13. Thus when one of the levers 12 isswung upwardly from the center of plate 11 it will thrust through onelink 14 and pull through the other link 14 to cause a correspondingmovement of the other lever 12. Normally the two levers are arrangedalong upwardly diverging lines as shown in Figure 2 but when ward thecenter of plate 11 the other lever will be similarly moved so as tobring the parts to thepositions illustrated in Figure 1.

The display structure is made up of superposed pairs of trays each ofwhich is of a length substantially equal to the distance between theouter faces of the end members 8. Secured along the end of each of thelower trays 15 is a strip 16 having one end off-set as at 17. Theoff-set ends of the corresponding strips 16 of the trays of each pairare extended toward each other and pivotally connected as at 18. Theother ends of the strips 16 of the lowermost trays 15 are pivotallyconnected at 19 to the upper ends of levers 12.

Pivotally connected to the strips 16 along the longitudinal centers oftrays 15 are short connecting links 20 the upper ends of which arepivotally attached at 21 to the lower ends of strips 22 on the nextadjoining pair of trays 23. Long links 24 are pivotally connected tothese strips 22 at points 25 in line with the longitudinal centers ofthe trays 23. The lower ends of these long links are attached to therespective strips 16 at the bases of their ofi-sets 17, as shown at 26and it is to be understood that the distance between the pivots 25 and26 of each of the links 24 is equal to the distance between the twopivots of each of the links 20. The mounting of the trays 23 isduplicated in connection with the succeeding pairs of trays thereabove.

Pivotally connected to one end of one of the trays 23 is a latch rod 27slidable within an eye 28 extending from the other tray 23 of the samepair. This rod has an intermediate offset 29 and a spring 30 whichconnects rod 2'7 to one of the 110 pivots 25 thereunder serves to snapthe off-set into engagement with eye 28 when rod 27 is slid to apredetermined position within the eye as hereinafter explained.

Connected to the uppermost trays 23 is a strap 31 providing a handle 32.

Each of the trays is adapted to contain one or more samples to bedisplayed. Some of these have been indicated at S. Normally the pairs oftrays are all supported one upon the other as shown in Figure 2, thelowermost traysresting upon the central raised portions 33 of the endmembers 8 and the upper ends of the several links being extended closeto the inner faces of the adjacent walls or" box 2. Thus when the box isplaced on base 1 a very compact structure is produced which can betransported readily.

When it is desired to use the case for display purposes the box 2 isremoved from base 1. The user then grasps handle 32 and pulls itvertically. This will cause the inner or adjoining ends of the uppermosttrays 23 to move upwardly into upwardly converging positions. Thismotion will be transmitted through the various links to the other traysthereunder so that all of the trays will be brought into inclinedpositions, the trays of each pair facing in opposite directionsrespectively with their contents exposed. During the upward elongationof the display structure the eye 28 will slide along rod 27 until theoff-set 29 passes therethrough. At that time spring 30 will snap theoff-set into engagement with the eye as shown in Figure 1 so that thedisplay structure will be held against unintentional collapse.

When it is desired to fold the structure the rod 27 is pulled upwardlyto disengage the off-set 29 from eye 28. Spring 30 will tend to retardcollapse of the foldable structure but by holding handle 32 and loweringit, the trays will gradually fold to the positions shown in Figure 2whereupon box 2 can be replaced and secured.

Importance is attached to the use of two links for connecting each trayto the next adjoining one. In every instance, one of the links connectsthree of the trays. This results in a sturdy structure which will notget out of order readily and reduces to the minimum the number of partsrequired in the construction of the case.

It will be noted also that one tray of each pair is joined by links tothe corresponding trays of the pairs to form a lazytong structure andthat the remaining links and trays form another lazytong structure.These two structures are joined solely by the pivotal connectionsbetween the trays and each of the lazytong structures is supported byone lever 12 at each end of the base portion.

What is claimed is:

1. In a display case a bottom having upstanding end members, leverspivoted to the respective members, crossed links connecting the levers,superposed pairs of trays, and strips secured to each tray, each striphaving one end off -set, the off-set portions on the strips of each pairof trays being pivotally connected, parallel links connecting the stripson the superposed trays, each link being pivotally mounted at its centeron the center line of one of its trays, and at its ends close to thefront and back portions respectively of the corresponding trays of thenext adjoining pairs, and a spring controlled latch for holding thetrays against relative movement when raised to predetermined positions.

2. In a display case a bottom portion having upstanding end members,levers fulcrumed on said members, crossed links connecting the leversfor simultaneous movement of the levers toward or from each other,superposed pairs of normally horizontal trays, pivotally connectedelements for joining the trays of each pair along their adjoining edgesto permit upward and downward relative swinging movement thereof,parallel links connecting the ends of the corresponding trays of thesuperposed pairs and cooperating with said trays to form lazytongs, anda spring controlled latch for holding the trays and links againstrelative movement when said trays are elevated relative to the basemember.

3. In a display case a bottom portion having end members, a pair oflazytong structures each including parallel links and superposed traysjoining the links, pivotal connections between the lazytong structuresat the inner edges of the trays, levers fulcrumed on the end members,cross links connecting the levers for uniform movement toward or fromeach other and pivotal connections between the levers and the lower endsof the respective lazytong structures, said levers, links andconnections being arranged to permit extension of the pair of lazytongstructures along parallel lines.

l. In a display case a bottom portion having end members, a pair oflazytong structures each including parallel links and superposed traysjoining the links, pivotal connections between the lazytong structuresat the inner edges of the trays, levers fulcrumed on the end members,cross links connecting the levers for uniform movement toward or fromeach other and pivotal connections between the levers and the lower endsof the respective lazytong structures, said levers, links andconnections being arranged to permit extension of the pair of lazytongstructures along parallel lines, a lifting handle connected to the upperends of the two lazytong structures, and a latch for holding saidlazytong structures against relative movement when extended apredetermined distance.

5. In a display case a base portion having end members, superposed pairsof trays normally supported on the end members, pivotal connectionsbetween the trays of each pair, links pivotally connecting one tray ofeach pair with the corresponding tray of the other pair, thereby to forma lazytong structure, links connecting the other trays of the severalpairs to form another lazytong structure, levers fulcrumed on the endmembers and movable toward or from each other, pivotal connectionsbetween said levers and the lower trays of the respective lazytongstructures, a latch connected to one of the lazytong structures, meanson the other lazytong structure for movable engagement with the latchand yielding means for automatically engaging the latch with saidmovable means to hold the lazytong structures against movement whenelongated.

LLOYD W. PLUMMER.

